The Forums, which have functioned in one way or another since 1996, have now been closed to new posting. However there is a wealth of accumulated wisdom that can be searched for and utilized, so we've archived the messages.
Join our new forum on Facebook, the Eat Right 4 Your Type Group.

PC, galactose is passively absorbed like glucose, but there are still issues with grapes (especially white ones).

There are a few complication with the above statement but it was specific to what i was discussing with Melisa, perhaps we are talking about different things.

Most of ingested lactose is converted to glucose in the liver and used as body fuel. However the amount that can be converted is rather limited, even in a healthy liver.

This conversion is a slow and complex process requiring four different enzymes. One of these enzymes is sometimes missing from birth, giving rise to a condition known as lactose. In this case continued milk-feeding leads to a build-up of lactose in the baby and causes cataracts, cirrhosis of the liver and spleen, and mental retardation.

If the liver is not healthy or fully functional, it is even less able to convert lactose. This fact has sometimes been used as a clinical liver-function test. If lactose is injected into someone with a defective liver, most of the lactose will be unused and will show up later in the urine.

Unfortunately, under normal conditions only part of the lactose is expelled with the urine. If there is a deficiency of protective antioxidants, then the rest is mainly oxidised to galactic acid, commonly known as mucic acid. Mucic acid is dangerous to health because it is insoluble. The body cannot let it build up in vital areas and block organ functions or blood circulation. Therefore, it forms the mucic acid into a sticky suspension in water, called mucus.

I was thinking of the monosaccharide galactose. Lactose is a disaccharide composed of one galactose and one glucose. I agree that metabolizing galactose is more complex (since glucose doesn't require any metabolizing!), and must be processed by the liver. As I understand, lactose intolerance is when there is insufficient lactase enzyme to cleave the lactose (which can't be absorbed) into galactose and glucose (both of which can be absorbed).

My son is improving. He saw his NMT practitioner last night, and she treated his HPA axis, which is also a cause of many issues. If he gets upset, his cortisol and insulin will spike and cause hypoglycemia, even if he's eaten a healthy meal.

We are phasing out the soymilk and dairy pretty well now, the NMT showed he doesn't have any immune problem with soy, but he does have trouble absorbing it. His smoothie now has just a half serving of low fructose fruit, homemade almond milk, Ice and a bit of vegetable glycerine (depending on how sweet the fruit is). I'd like to put protein powder in it, but the options are limited, especially when flavor is a big consideration. His egg allergy is improving, but not totally gone yet.

He is also taking flax oil, which does seem to help.

He was waking often in the night with nausea and probable hypoglycemia, but now that rarely happens. His morning tummy aches and nausea are also decreasing. Today he didn't even have phlegm or congestion.

Type O+ Secretor. Long time believer, currently redeeming myself from a decade or so of spotty compliance. Mom of 2 (A & O), Wife of 1 (A).

First, love Lola's comment "What's up with FODMAPs and the Irish???" My family is mostly Irish/Scottish, and we're all a bunch of crazy fructose malabsorbers. We're all O's.

Second, a list that's been super helpful for me and my son (O-negative), who was diagnosed with FM back in January (went to Seattle Children's and had celiac, gluten intolerance/food intolerance blood testing and hydrogen breath testing...he's been allergic to dairy since infancy): http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/foodcomp/Data/Other/herr48.pdf

That link goes to a USDA pdf with a whole list of lab-tested sugar contents of various foods. INCREDIBLY useful (got that from the nutritionists at Seattle Children's).

Also, it's ripe bananas that are *fine* for us with FM, not unripe bananas. Unripe ones make my son and I sick, but not ripe. Pineapples and berries are also a godsend! Stevia is also good.

Currently seeing a bunch of nutritionists and gastro specialists to try to get his situation under control. He was having really awful diarrhea before the diet and lost almost 10 pounds. He was already pretty thin. On the diet, he was fine for a few weeks and then got really constipated (so bad he was having "breakthrough" diarrhea...ugh). He's 7, so having to wear diapers again was not high on his (or our) list of things to do. Until we can convince him that high-fiber vegetables (low FODMAP, of course) won't hurt him, he's still dealing with constipation and having to take stool softeners every couple of days. I will say going on the FM diet really helped his minor behavioral/ADHD-like issues in school.

His pediatrician, who is not a typical western medicine type of doctor (she dabbles in integrative medicine stuff), says he's her second diagnosed kid. She thinks it's the tip of the iceberg, though. And we're trying to figure out why most kids seem to get it right around the 4-7 age range. Something to do with stress/infection from school exposure, maybe?

Currently seeing a bunch of nutritionists and gastro specialists to try to get his situation under control. He was having really awful diarrhea before the diet and lost almost 10 pounds. He was already pretty thin. On the diet, he was fine for a few weeks and then got really constipated (so bad he was having "breakthrough" diarrhea...ugh). He's 7, so having to wear diapers again was not high on his (or our) list of things to do. Until we can convince him that high-fiber vegetables (low FODMAP, of course) won't hurt him, he's still dealing with constipation and having to take stool softeners every couple of days. I will say going on the FM diet really helped his minor behavioral/ADHD-like issues in school.

I've been seeing an integrative MD for about two months now. Two things that have gotten me regular are probiotics, and giving up grains for a couple of weeks. I've been eating small amounts again (rice cakes) without any trouble so far. YMMV but perhaps it's worth trying. My Dr. says grains are very hard to digest, especially for someone who already has gut issues, and I might add, ESPECIALLY for type Os with gut issues.

BTW, if his gut flora are out of balance, he will probably feel worse for the first couple weeks on probiotics.

for example if you use white rice soak it for 24 hours before using, rinsing every 8-12 hours and rinse thoroughly at the end before cooking as normal. you can do the same with brown rice.

Be very careful of any SORBITOL testing or any substance for that matter (even professionals get it wrong), there was a case where a person died due to the wrong substance being sold from a firm in Northern Ireland. it turned up in Europe and all over the place - we even had a sample which we thankfully didn't use on our daughter. be very sure of your source and always test on yourself first if you are testing children. http://news.yahoo.com/ebay-blocks-sale-sorbitol-death-italy-010741094.html

Thanks, all! It's been a really hard year for him and us. But he's doing SO much better.

He is currently on a six week regimen of taking miralax to help soften his stool, with a stimulant laxative on the weekends, to shrink his colon.

Before the diagnosis, he had horrific diarrhea. After starting the diet, he did really well for a while, and then the constipation started, with breakthrough diarrhea. Really sad, but he's doing great on the miralax.

I don't want him on it permanently, though. It's no problem getting him to eat meat of any variety (except chicken, which frankly, I don't blame him). I really need to get more fiber into him, which is impossible when he's a picky seven year old. Brown rice has been fantastic and he does well with it. He hasn't eaten wheat or anything with gluten for several months, and almost no other grains. Given that he's almost certainly an Explorer like me (and possibly his dad...in any event, we're almost certainly all O-nonnies, though we're O-negative, and the hubby is O-positive). I do have the Carabelli's cusps on my molars, though, so I'm not exactly terrified of rice or quinoa, but holding off on portion sizes for myself, to assist with the weight loss (I've lost over 20 pounds this year!). I will try soaking the rice, though...I already do that with the quinoa, as I find it awfully bitter and it seems to help.